What if you don't believe in God, but still feel a pull towards prayer? Buddhism addresses that contradiction. "From our perspective, the function of prayer is to connect us with that which is greater than our smalll self", says Hogen Bays, a Zen Buddhist priest. He suggests trying the "metta" or loving-kindness prayer practive:
"Sit down, quiet your mind, and beginning with yourself, say, 'May I be free from fear. May I be free from suffering. May I be happy. May I be filled with loving-kindness.' Next, focus on someone you love and say the same prayer on the person's behalf. Then pray in the same way for a neutral person, someone you don't know. Finally, pray for someone you dislike. In doing so, you nourish the seeds of kindness and love in yourself and then let it radiate outwards."
Another centuries-old practice called "the examen of conscience" was developed by the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It involves conscious reflection on the events of the past 12 or 24 hours. "As they play through your mind, you try to notice where you sensed God's presence-the person who smiled at you on the street, the child you saw", says American theology professor Maria Tattu Bowen. "Usually it's something very small that jogs your memory about the fact that God is immanent."
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